LANGUAGE  AND  LITERACY  TESTS

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finger  caliper
cutter  rule
saw  hand  planer
hatchet  adze
Ifl  this  manner  some  idea  of  a  toolmaker’s  tool  vocabulary
ma y  be  gained.
Vocabulary  tests  have  been  among  the  most  popular
°f  language  tests,  especially  among  laymen.  However,
from  the  practical  and  scientific  standpoint,  such  tests
are  very  inadequate.  In  the  first  place,  it  is  extremely
difficult  to  give  a  vocabulary  test.  In  order  to  make  it
S1 gnificant  there  must  be  a  long  list  of  words  to  define.
■^°w,  if  these  words  are  to  be  defined  in  writing,  the  test
ta kes  too  much  time.  If  the  words  are  to  be  defined
<>«%,  the  person  to  whom  the  definitions  are  recited  has
to  make  rapid  and  arbitrary  decisions  as  to  their  correctness. ­
  There  is  no  objective  certainty  in  such  a  procedure.
In  any  case,  the  test  does  not  lend  itself  to  scientific  render-In
 g  and  marking.  Moreover,  even  if  there  were  not  these
difficulties,  there  is  a  grave  question  as  to  the  value  of  such
a  test  for  practical  purposes.  A  large  vocabulary  is  not
necessarily  a  sign  of  mental  ability  or  reasoning  power.  It
be  simply  the  inevitable  concomitant  of  a  broad  genial ­
  education  or  course  of  reading.  On  the  other  hand,
jnen  with  a  very  poor  vocabulary  may  have  unusual  abil-Jt
 y  m  a  great  many  different  directions.  If  the  vocabulary
tes t  is  to  become  at  all  significant,  it,  too,  will  have  to  be
specialized  to  meet  special  needs.  For  instance,  an  electri
 cal  engineer  requires  a  very  definite  vocabulary  in
^ er tain  respects.  So  do  the  mechanical  engineer,  the  chemj
 st >  the  metallurgist,  the  fuel  engineer,  etc.,  etc.  Vocabua
 ries  which  are  made  up  of  words  relevant  to  a  particular
* ln d  of  task  or  ability  will  be  of  much  greater  value  for